This invention relates to a tubular device for draining fluid from a cavity in the body of a patient, which cavity, for example, may be the stomach, the bladder, an abscess, or a sutured wound.
It is common practice in the medical art to insert an intake tube into a body cavity of a patient and to place the intake tube in communication with a vacuum source to drain fluid from the cavity. The vacuum source may be a manually operated syringe, but more commonly a wall outlet of a vacuum system is conveniently available.
If the body cavity is the stomach and the intake tube is inserted through the patient's nose, no problem arises if the drainage period is brief. In some instances, however, drainage from the stomach is required for a relatively long period of time, for example, during a prolonged surgical operation; and a problem arises because prolonged application of vacuum to the intake tube has a serious eroding effect on the stomach wall.
If the body cavity is the bladder, the intake tube is a catheter, which may be equipped with an inflatable cuff. The catheter normally drains into a drainage receptacle, but it is commonly desirable to take the catheter away from the drainage receptacle periodically to permit the patient to be mobile. At such times the bladder continues spontaneous flow of urine, and the problem arises of how to prevent indiscriminate release of the urine into the environment. One common expedient is to release the urine into a paper cup, and another expedient that is employed at times is to tie a rubber glove to the catheter to serve as a receiver.
If the body cavity is an abscess, the problem is to insert a rubber-like intake tube through the flesh of the patient into the region of the abscess. Commonly, a scalpel is used to make an incision for this purpose, but the insertion of the intake tube through the incision is usually awkward and time consuming.
In some situations it is desirable not only to drain a body cavity, but also to introduce fluid into the cavity periodically for treatment or for irrigation of the cavity. One example is when the body cavity is the healing zone beneath sutures that close a wound.